Rare for our area bird sighted in our back yard (photo)

[Omaha Steve]

Last edited Mon Apr 11, 2016, 09:09 PM - Edit history (2)

Mother nature snowed two weeks ago. We lost our early hummingbirds. But we continue to attract a larger assortment of birds than we have ever had before. You may remember we had our first ever Blue Birds in near zero temps. Below is a Black-headed Grosbeak. He is a couple hundred miles east of his range. We will be putting up a page of photos as time permits.

Enjoy.

Steve & Marta

Newly uploaded the photos today 4-11-16 as the old links were dead.

[ellie]

1. Beautiful!

I love birds.

[madokie]

3. I love all things that have life

inanimate objects not so much

[cherokeeprogressive]

2. Beautiful bird! That looks almost like the Western Tanager.

If you're really lucky you might see one. In seven years of living here in the San Bernardino National Forest, I've seen two.

[Omaha Steve]

6. Our first Summer Tanager from a couple weeks ago

From behind next to an Oriole.

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. That is SO cool. Thank you for those pics!

I'm saving them if you don't mind.

[Omaha Steve]

13. Enjoy them with our compliments

We had FIVE Tom Turkeys with their tails all spread out about an hour ago. We will try to get the pix up this weekend.

Here is a single Tom picture posted earlier.



Our first ever blue Birds. It was 12 degrees outside. Heated bird bath.

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. Wow that's a FAT Tom!

Last week my Wife and I spent a week RVing just west of San Luis Obispo and there were some wild turkeys in and out of our campground. Damn if I didn't miss the opportunity to take pics. They were the first wild turkeys I'd ever seen. I'm no stranger to Wild Turkey though LOL.

[madokie]

11. do you ever mosey up to Warner Springs

I was stationed there for a tour of duty in the '60s at the Navy's SERE school. I don't think the school is still there now though. Best I remember we were about 12 miles north of WS. If you didn't know where it was you'd never find it as it was unmarked. We used to go up to Big Bear from time to time to hang out in the ski lodge and to Riverside to the bars a lot. It was beautiful up there. The post office at our camp was at 5280 ft elevation, one mile. That was the best duty any service member could hope for. You could see Palomar observatory from our camp back in the west northwest.

[cherokeeprogressive]

14. The closest I've ever been to Warner Springs is Vail Lake. It's on Hwy 79 just NE of Warner Springs.

My Grandpa used to take me fishing there as a kid, before I-15 was complete. I swear, to a youngster, a drive from the area of Knotts Berry Farm to Temecula was like going on a road-trip LOL.

OT... In the early '80s I stood a mid-watch (00-08) on a Saturday night. The Duty Officer was a JG and while chatting we discovered we'd grown up about two miles apart. We had even bought weed on the same street, but I digress...

He was an S-3A Pilot. For some reason, he started telling me about his SERE school experience. I was absolutely flabbergasted and I'll tell you what, it was the fastest passing 8 hour watch I ever stood. On Sunday morning as we were about to be relieved, he told me that if the Navy ever came to him and told him they lost his paperwork and he'd have to go through SERE school again, he'd turn in his wings in a heartbeat.

Without revealing too much... he told me about a guy stepping out from behind a screen in a Russian military uniform and speaking in Russian. He said he'd never been so scared in his life.

Re Warner Springs, I haven't been out that way in years and now it sounds like a good Harley ride for my Wife and I.

[madokie]

77. That Russian guy was one of us instructors

Out of boot they sent me through SERE school and I couldn't understand why they were abusing me like this, who did I piss off and to what extent did I piss this person off. After completing the course, 2 months total, after they'd got us settled back down and brought back to earth and our nerves settled and some food in our stomachs, debriefed and all that and was about to put us on a bus to return to where ever, as none of us at that point knew nor cared as long as we got the hell out of there. They singled out myself and this other kid who was also from Oklahoma and told us we were staying. At that point we both realized the reason why they put us through the 8 weeks of hell was because they were going to leave us there to help in the training. It was great duty once we got to that point but getting to that duty was a living hell.
There was a little bar back to the north of our camp called Dodge City, we were on the east side back off the road a ways, HW 79 best I remember about half way between WS and dodge city. Beautiful country up there.
After my duty there and I was headed for VN I was told that very little of what we taught was to be talked about and none of the Prisoner of War phase was to be given out to any one under any circumstances. I still adhere to that all these years later as I understand it still applies. It was a top secret camp.
We were visited by Nixon's goons, Haldeman and Ehrlichman soon after Nixon's inauguration and they were very interested in the prisoner of war camp and the intense interrogation we put the students though. I've often wondered if that is where the dick and his goons came up with using waterboarding as some of the students were subjected to that. Not all, (I wasn't,) but if they were headed for sensitive duty such as captains of ships etc or would be flying over VN they were. I hope I haven't said too much already

[cherokeeprogressive]

87. I remember he told me the Russian guy was an instructor.

Actually, the way I remember it was that the guy who came out speaking Russian was the one RUNNING the exercise. Since my JG had already been broken psychologically, he thought for a moment it was all real.

There was also something about a small box with a stool in it, forcing him to have to bend his neck as his head was in hard contact with the top. There was a straw blowing fresh air on his cheek that he was at first grateful for. Then the burn started. He said in the end he didn't know if he was in the box for three hours or three days.

I had a newfound respect for all the pilots and aircrew in my squadron after that night. Before that, they were all just puds in khaki panties who weren't good for much more than breaking the airplanes and causing me to work 12 hour days.

What part of OK are you from? I spent most of my early summers at my Great Grandparents' house in Midwest City, DIRECTLY under the flight path of Tinker AFB about half a mile from the end of the runway. Man, back then (60's) Tinker was 24/7 and they shook the house. I could actually see the pilots' visors sometimes.

I lived in Choctaw for a while. Have lots of family in Locust Grove (ever hear of the murders?), Tulsa, Norman, and Durant. and my Grandpa was full-blood Cherokee born on the Res in Tahlequah.

[madokie]

88. I was born 5 miles south east of Locust Grove in march of '48

in a little community called Iron Post, just east of the boy scout camp, Camp Garland. We still have our home place where my family moved to, a mile east of LG back in '61. I'm sure I know some of your family that lives in Locust Grove and I bet they know me and my family. Small world huh. I don't think they had the real killer in the murders of the girl scouts in Gene Leroy Hart. He had supposedly raped a girl prior to the murders and thats what made them finger him but I never thought for a minute he did it. I also don't think that a single person could have done that either. I believe the real murderers is still out there if they've not died by now

The box he mentions in SERE training is the worst it got for me too. I spent what seemed like two or three hours in it and when they removed the top I couldn't stand as my legs were numb. In reality we only kept students in the box for at most 30 minutes, most times 10 maybe 15 minutes. By the time the students are captured they are convinced that they are really prisoners of war and that they've been captured. I know this both from being a student first and being an instructor second. If you aren't sure of being a prisoner of war by the time you are in the prisoner of war camp you are removed. Very seldom did we ever have to remove someone from the training because of it, in fact I only remember a couple times that we did. It was real, as real as it gets. I remember parts of it like it was yesterday. I think most people who went through the training do. I've only met one other person in civilian life that went through SERE training and I met him about 7 or 8 years ago when I went to help my brother put up a portable building for him. He was a pilot in VN and in conversation SERE training came up. So you were one of the instructors he said as he came for my throat, not serious like but I wasn't sure at first. He still remembered it well though. SERE training was some scary shit to say the least. Most of the people who went through the training were Seal and UDT members with pilots who were headed to Vietnam and people who were headed to be captains of a Navy Base or a Ship making up the rest. All of those people went through the training. No one else in the Navy had to go through the training as it was for special ops only. Also those of us who were going to be stationed there of course, that was my crime that got me sent to it. Our camp had from 90 to 105 people who were station there at any one time, depending on people coming on board and leaving for other duty stations, mostly it was the last stop for the majority of my fellow comrades.
If you want PM me and we can share names of our families if you care to. I'd be interested to know who your family members were as I'm sure you for mine now too. We can also stay anonymous if you want.

[awoke_in_2003]

12. That is a great looking bird. nt

[CurtEastPoint]

4. What a great yellow color! I love Ma Nature!

[Cleita]

5. I had a pair flitting around my plum tree today as well!

I live in CA though so they are a little more common here than where you live.

[ailsagirl]

7. Great pix!

Thanks for sharing. I saw a Hooded Oriole today but, alas, no photos.

[malaise]

8. Lovely

Thanks

[DonRedwood]

9. very handsome!

I had a pink headed hummingbird in my yard last weekend. I've only ever seen green ones here before.

[premium]

15. Beautiful bird.

Birds are so beautifully colored and funny as hell to watch.
This is what we've got here at my home just outside of Tonopah, NV.

Red Breasted Sparrow.



Also the House sparrow. Handsome fellow, isn't he?



And to top it off, Mockingbirds.

[Omaha Steve]

18. Love the Mockingbird

We remember when we were in Vegas (Oct. 2000) there was a beautiful songbird we don't have here. Wish I could remember what it was???

[premium]

21. These are pretty common in So. NV.

The Yellow Breasted Chat. A beautiful songbird.



Perhaps this is what you saw.

Mockingbirds are beautiful and aggressive, I watched on attack a cat one time, poor cat didn't know what to make of it.

[truebluegreen]

28. Actually, what you are calling a "house sparrow"

is in fact an English Sparrow (male) or a Weaver Finch in its native Britain.

It is an all-too-successful invader and, while handsome, a huge (hugh!) detriment to our native birds.

[Omaha Steve]

31. We have anassortment of

Last edited Sat Dec 21, 2013, 01:00 PM - Edit history (1)

Compared to the hawks that pick off our song birds, I'll take the House Sparrows.

The only birds we don't ever get a photo of are the owls in the area.

[truebluegreen]

34. Hawks have been around here for milennia. English "house sparrows" have not.

If you want to get disney-esque about it, it is called the "circle of life."

Signed: a falconer.

P.S. Hawks, falcons and other birds of prey (and falconers!) have NEVER threatened the survival of prey species the way interlopers and humans have (if they did, said prey species would have died out long ago).

[Omaha Steve]

36. Point taken

[truebluegreen]

38. Alrighty then.

P.S. have you seen this? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/campbell-ewald-falcons-hatch-baby-bird_n_3274354.html

There's a link to a live cam too.

[premium]

32. You are absolutely correct.

They were brought over from England and pretty much acclimated to every region in this country, they are considered pests and are very aggressive and territorial and will kill other native birds.
In the U.S., there are only 3 wild birds that you can keep as pets without a wildlife license, the English Sparrow, the pigeon, and the Common Starling, because all 3 are not native to the U.S..

[truebluegreen]

35. Thank you.

[premium]

43. Even though the actual name is English Sparrow,

in the U.S., they became known as the "House Sparrow" because of their penchant for building their nests in the eves of houses.
These little brown birds are quite fascinating and are considered one of the most intelligent birds of their species.

[truebluegreen]

44. See post #28.

I agree that they are very intelligent: it is a big part of the reason they are so successful. Ditto starlings. Unfortunately.

[OldRedneck]

45. House sparrows are predators

House sparrows are predators. In my area we have lots of Eastern Bluebirds and the House Sparrows invade the bluebird nest boxes, destroy the eggs, and if the eggs have hatched, they kill the bluebird fledglings.

I shoot House Sparrows with a .177-cal air rifle. Also, trap House Sparrows by the dozen. When I get a trap full, I shoot 'em in the trap with a Daisy BB gun. I kill 150-200 a year and don't make a dint in the population.

http://www.sparrowtraps.net/


http://www.chuckspurplemartinpage.com/spartrap.htm

Starlings, too. They are too big for the trap so I shoot them with a .22 at longer range, use the .177 air rifle close in.

[premium]

47. Yep,

that's why there considered pests, problem is, they breed faster than you can eradicate them. There very wily birds and are quick to learn.

[truebluegreen]

49. Starlings and English Sparrows are the only birds

I harvest to feed my falcons while they moult. Tasty, nutritious morsels but very detrimental to the native populations. <sigh>

[Ino]

57. Red Breasted Sparrow?

I think that's a male House Finch

[premium]

59. You're right,

but we call it a red breasted sparrow, sparrows are considered part of the finch family.

[csziggy]

69. I think your "Red Breasted Sparrow" is actually a House Finch

We've got a pair here, but I haven't gotten pictures of them yet.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Finch/id

I can't find any listings at the Cornell Ornithology Bird site for "red breasted sparrow" - the reddest sparrow they have is a Fox Sparrow:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Fox_Sparrow/id

[premium]

71. You're right,

however, in So, NV., we call them red breasted sparrows because they closely resemble the English Sparrow, but they are part of the Finch family of birds.
They are really beautiful birds.

[csziggy]

79. They also have a really nice song

The link I gave has a tab for sound with a sample of the House Finch song.

My pair was sitting on the feeder hooks this morning, waiting for me to bring out the feeders. As I walked down the hill to put out mealworms for the blue birds, the male house finch serenaded me.

It's a nice start to the morning!

[livetohike]

17. Beautiful! I haven't seen one in years!!

Great pics, too

[TheProgressive]

19. We get Grosbeak here in Northern California...

In spring - right now...

My bird feeder usually has 6 or more... sometimes just the one. We get
the ones in your picture and more yellow ones and brown ones...

Birds are cool....

Cats should always be in the house or on a lease....

And can all the Cat posts be in DU Lounge .... Please...?

[Art_from_Ark]

67. Is there a special advantage to leasing a cat

rather than owning one outright?

[premium]

72. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

You might be onto a unique business model.

[TheProgressive]

81. Yes, there is an advantage...

Leasing a cat requires owners to reign in the cats bird killings and shitting in neighbors yards.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. In the meantime I get to take photos of wind turbines

with missing blades.



Writing the story right now

[premium]

24. Yep.

I've read that those wind turbines and wind farms are responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead birds each year.
You'd think that someone would come up with some kind of cage to house the blades.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. This one flew off it's mounts.

They are rated for 100 MpH...it was under 20 overnight...I will be kind, in the field this afternoon, it was 25 MpH. Once it runs will post both. I used to think they were green...not quite.

[premium]

37. I assume that your talking about the wind turbines like what they have at Palm Springs

and Tehachapi, CA.?

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Yes... I am

Those are "not negligible wind sites" these are

[truebluegreen]

41. Check this out.

What do you think?


http://atelierdna.com/masdarwindstalk/

[nadinbrzezinski]

42. Intriguing

[TuxedoKat]

22. Cool

If they are anything like Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, they like fruit and suet too. I put up a platform feeder and only put fruit and suet in it to attract Mockingbirds and now I am seeing one regularly in my yard.

[Omaha Steve]

23. Our first ever Orchard-Oriole-(and a Baltimore-Oriole)

Last edited Fri May 17, 2013, 08:34 AM - Edit history (1)

We have gone through a gallon can of grape jelly in a week. NOW we find out they don't make it in gallon cans anymore. We also have a custom made Oriole feeder from Gardens by Nancy. She is a local resident that knows her stuff and is well known in the area. The high temps (99) Tuesday broke the jelly bowl. So we will be hunting for a replacement bowl.

[premium]

25. Gorgeous birds. nt.

[onestepforward]

73. What lovely birds!

I'm so jealous! I've never seen any type of oriole in Houston. I did spot an indigo bunting the other day.

[truebluegreen]

26. Lookit the size of that schnoz!

I luvs me those grosbeaks...

[MsPithy]

27. This is very important information.

We should all be documenting how the natural ranges of wildlife are changing due the climate change.

[4dsc]

29. I have a yellow male cardinal visisiting my feeders

talk about rare sighting.

[Omaha Steve]

33. Great job getting the video

Congrats!

[Beacool]

39. Beautiful pics.

I'm a city girl, I only recognize the pigeons. I wouldn't know one bird from another.

[premium]

46. Bird are some of the most colorful species,

the male is usually more colorful, the reason is to attract a female, here is a pic of a male English Sparrow compared to a female English Sparrow.

[Beacool]

80. Thank you.

I do like birds, but don't get a chance to see many species where I live.

[1ProudAtheist]

48. A Hummer

Drinking from my deck rail feeder at about 4 feet distance.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[1ProudAtheist]

50. A Pair Of

Barred Owls that I spotted in a tree just off my side deck.........just sunning themselves. One is facing me, the other is facing away and you can see his or her lower half....

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Omaha Steve]

52. Gorgeous!

[Tree-Hugger]

68. Wow!

Great pic! I only hear owls - mostly Great Horned and Screech - I don't see them. I love Barred Owls - their eyes are amazing.

[1ProudAtheist]

51. The Same Owl

Still sunning.......taken with a much longer lens.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[premium]

61. Beautiful owl.

From what I've read, owls are the only bird species that have forward looking eyes, while all the other bird species have side looking eyes.

[1ProudAtheist]

53. Mama Bluebird

Just after feeding her young. We get at least 4 or 5 clutches every year in this very same nest box.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[1ProudAtheist]

54. Pops Keeping Watch

From the satellite dish a few feet from the nest box.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[premium]

58. What a stunningly beautiful bird. nt.

[1ProudAtheist]

55. Mom & Pop

Taking a short break from feeding........sitting on my shed roof just about 5 feet from the nest box. In case you are wondering, they never get out of sight when the chicks have hatched........one is always there.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[1ProudAtheist]

56. This Guy

Is just too much. He figured out how to get INTO one of my squirrel feeders.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[1ProudAtheist]

60. A Painted Bunting

On one of our feeders. We have 4 or 5 mated pairs every year. They love to sit on the confederate jasmine along the fence and take turns on the feeders.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[premium]

62. Oh, what a beautiful bird.

As you can guess by now, I love birds.

[1ProudAtheist]

64. My Wife And I

Are both nature lovers as well. We have 7 hanging bird feeders, 2 hanging bird baths, 9 squirrel feeders, and we also have one of the hanging bird baths mounted on a short 4x4 to provide water for our resident family of racoons. We have a mommy and daddy, and last year, they brought 3 younguns up to feed. They eat at night from underneath the bird feeders and the squirrel feeders. We also have 4 large hanging hummingbird feeders, and 2 rail mounted on our deck. The hummingbirds regularly buzz us when we are sitting outside.......especially if the feeders are getting low. We also have many pairs of chameleons. They are great at eating the nuisance insects like mosquitoes and gnats.

Our biggest problem, believe it or not, is keeping the feral cats away. I have made some really funny looking box traps to catch them, and all of the folks at the county animal shelter know when we have made a dropoff......LOL. One day, one of the officers came by the house to ask us about one of them that we dropped off.......they said that it was the meanest thing that they had ever encountered.

Oh, BTW, we also have a herd of deer that congregate in out fropnt yard every night. They love to eat the flower blossoms, especially the knockout rose blooms. Yes, we live in our own little world........at peace with nature, and love it.

[premium]

65. I salute you for your contribution to the wildlife effort.

We need more people like you and your wife to preserve what Mother Nature has given us. My biggest fear is that climate change is going to wipe out all these beautiful creatures that we've, as humans, have been blessed with.
Please, keep up the good work.

[Omaha Steve]

92. Mother Nature thanks you

So do Marta and I.

OS

[JEB]

63. Thanks for posting.

I really enjoyed the photos and everybody's enthusiasm and stories. Encounters with birds have their own magic. Thanks again.

[premium]

66. You're very welcome,

I could never understand someone not liking birds, they are, IMHO, the most beautiful of all wild species.

[Tree-Hugger]

70. I love this thread!

Thank you to everyone who shared pics. I think birds are fascinating. I could sit all day in our nature center's bird blind and just watch them.

[1ProudAtheist]

74. Here Is A House Finch

Some folks here call them strawberry finches. We have about 30 or 40 of these fellers every year. They eat us out of house and home. We buy 3 40 pound bags of bird food every month in the summer, and about 50 bushels of corn every year to feed the squirrels. We live close to a farmer who grows corn, and he holds back 50 bushels for us.

My wife and I do rehab on displaced squirrels. We actually are now on our third house pet squirrel........yes, inside squirrels. The last one actually slept in bed with us. We now have our first boy.........and he is very different from the females that we have had in the past. We tried to get him acclimated to the outdoors, but he just hid in his bed for 3 days, and wouldn't come out until we brought him back inside. I guess he isn't nearly as dumb as we thought. He knows a good thing when he sees it. I also have a pet macaw that I have had since 1978. I rescued him from a nightclub where he was being neglected. 2 wives and 3 girlfriends later, me and the bird are still hanging tough. 1 man, 1 bird. LOL.

I know that I have taken up too much bandwidth with all of these pics, and I have literally thousands more, so I will leave it at this last one. I hope everyone has enjoyed this thread as much as I have. Good evening all.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[premium]

75. Where I live in So. NV.,

although they are House Finches, we call them Red Breasted Sparrows due to their uncanny resemblance to the English Sparrow.

[Skittles]

76. aw these pics are a real treat

I LOVE bird watching!

[Omaha Steve]

78. Last nights Turkey feed

We couldn't get close enough for all five Toms in a good shot. So here are two of the Toms trying to attract a Mrs Tom.

The bare area to the front and right of the flower pot on the other side of the fence is where our possums eat at dusk. The raccoons come up right after that.

[Katashi_itto]

82. We can't get the damn bird on our building to go away

[premium]

83. LOL. nt.

[Katashi_itto]

84. :)

[Omaha Steve]

91. Who cleans up after it?

[Omaha Steve]

85. One of our Indigo Buntings

[premium]

89. Wow, what gorgeous colors,

I love how it goes from dark blue to med. blue. Thx for posting this beautiful bird.

[cry baby]

86. This week, we had a visit from a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak...

And his mate. I'm in East Tx near Tyler. My bird book says that this bird only goes as far south as Kansas.

[XemaSab]

90. They're migrating

They're just passing through.

[Omaha Steve]

93. UPDATE

This is only the third known sighting of a Black-headed Grosbeak in our area as per eBird. The other two sightings were in 2003 and 2008! One was about a mile away.

I will have a map of the sightings up tonight.

http://ebird.org/content/ebird/

OS